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Fire and Lies
Fire and Lies Episode Four, Season One, of Beauty. Enjoy <3 Fire and Lies “Let’s go!” Flarepaw shouts, “If you don’t hurry, we’re leaving you behind!” She is casually grooming her fur while some of her friends snicker. Snowpaw mutters, “I don’t get why she doesn’t just leave without us. I’m sure the instructors will like her even more if she arrives early.” The white she-cat is trying to groom out the moss in her fur. Rainpaw shrugs, “You know how she is. All she talks about is how the she-cats’ group is organized and that makes us better than the toms.” Finchpaw, a new addition to our group, snorts, “A snotty she-cat like her has to act like one.” I push myself out of my nest, “We should get going before Flarepaw stresses herself out too much. We wouldn’t want that now do we?” “Let her,” Another voice interrupts. “I’m sorry?” I narrow my eyes at a white she-cat with red splotches dotting her pelt. “And who are you?” Snowpaw watches the new she-cat with newfound interest. “I’m Applepaw,” she replies, “I usually follow Gingerpaw around, but I think I can tolerate you.” I raise an eyebrow at that, but before I can reply, I hear Flarepaw shout, “If you don’t get your sorry heads out here, I’m going to boot you out of there myself!” Rainpaw pushes herself up and heads for the entrance. “Best to be going,” she advises, prompting us all to follow all to follow her lead. Applepaw tails us somewhat reluctantly, and she makes some small talk with Finchpaw. “Finally!” Flarepaw exclaims, “I was worried that you were too scared to show up.” I smiles sweetly at the jab and replies, “Yeah, scared of how much you’ll be cowering from me.” Her face is a mask of shock, and I airily start towards the Hollow. Snowpaw whispers in my ear, “Nice one, she looked as though she swallowed a mouse!” I purr a little at that and Gingerpaw joins me, “Never seen Flarepaw so out of character before,” she meows, obviously impressed, “You’re a smooth talker.” I roll my eyes at that and the talk behind me filters away as we filed into the Hollow. “At last,” Blossomflecks mews coldly, “I can’t believe you she-cats are so slow this moon.” Flarepaw shoots me a murderous glare, but I smile sweetly at her, imitating one of her smiles. She scowls and whispers something into Larkpaw’s ear. Brownpaw catches my gaze and gives me a disapproving frown. He shakes his head at me, though I don’t really know why. I fix my eyes on the instructors instead, trying to concentrate. “Today, you will be assigned to groups, and one instructor will lead you on a mission. You will join up with a real squad, but you will only be watching as they perform their mission. Do not interfere or you could get seriously hurt. Who ever disobeys what their instructor’s orders will be severly punished. Am I understood?” “Understood!” We chorus. Snowpaw leans over excitedly, “Our first chance to see the real cruelty of the Beauty.” I know what she means. It means an opportunity for us to look for Beauty weaknesses and unhinge the Beauty from inside out. “Flarepaw, Snowpaw, Brownpaw, Flamepaw, Larkpaw, Brackenpaw…” Blossomflecks lists a few more names. “You are with me.” Other instructors call out their groups, and I get bundled with Rainpaw, Lionpaw, Hawkpaw, and Applepaw. Others in our group are apprentices I don’t recognize. Our assigned instructor is Brightleaf. “We’re going to go at a fast pace,” Brightleaf warns, “Don’t hesitate to call for a stop.” She doesn’t wait for any replies and sets off. Rainpaw goes to go talk to Hawkpaw, while Lionpaw joins Applepaw and me, “You look new,” Lionpaw huffs, “What’s your name?” Applepaw looks slightly amused by his interest, “Applepaw,” she replies, “And you?” “Lionpaw,” the golden tom doesn’t miss a beat, “I assume you already know Amberpaw?” At Applepaw’s hesitant nod, Lionpaw adds, “Don’t tell me you two have been running next to each other without knowing each other’s names!” Applepaw blinks, looking a bit flustered and overwhelmed. “Don’t worry,” Lionpaw continues, “We’re good cats, unlike Flarepaw over there.” Any other cat would have questioned what Lionpaw said. But not Applepaw. “Okay,” she mews quietly, “I’m guessing I should stick to you guys?” “Yeah,” I cut in, “We’re probably the best choice.” Brightleaf pulls to a halt, forcing us to stop in time. Her gaze sweeps over the apprentices, and I close my mouth, trying to get my breath back. “We’re assigned to a mission to drive back the rebels in the poor. I’ll make myself clear. Nobody will interfere with their mission. We are just here to watch and learn.” Her eyes meet all of ours. “Anybody who disobeys me will be severely punished.” With that said, she sets off once again, this time at a slower pace. Rainpaw slips in beside me, leaving Hawkpaw’s side for a bit, “I think they’re picking the worst missions for us to see.” She whispers. “What do you mean?” Rainpaw looks slightly angered, “I think they’re deliberately showing us the worst of our so-called ‘enemies’ in these missions. Just like they did with those stories they told us a few days ago.” I take in her words, “Maybe,” I agree, “Let’s just hope not.” The gray she-cat nods and returns to Hawkpaw’s side. I spot Brightleaf frowning at Rainpaw. Unexpected terror and unease course through me. Why is Brightleaf upset? Is there a reason she despised Rainpaw? A sudden thought breaks though: Do the instructors suspect something of Rainpaw? “We’re nearing the area,” Brightleaf interrupts my train of thoughts, “Try to be as quiet as possible to avoid alerting the rebels.” Our group treks in silence, and curiosity surges through me. I excuse myself and join the instructor in the front. “Brightleaf?” I start quietly, “How many rebel groups are in the Beauty?” She glances over at me, and I cringe, expecting to see suspicion laced in her gaze. There is none. “Why do you ask, Amberpaw?” “I’m just curious,” I answer, “I wanted to know how much longer we had to fight the poor.” Brightleaf shrugs, “Not enough to be a threat. The poor are weak; they’ll never gather enough forces to defeat us.” Us. The word echoes in my mind. “Oh,” I mew instead, “What a relief.” Brightleaf nods, and I join Applepaw and Lionpaw in the back again. “What did you ask her?” Applepaw asks, glancing over at me, “She was looking at you with interest.” The white and red she-cat’s eyes shows pure concern. “I wanted to know how many rebel groups were in the poor,” I replies. Applepaw’s second comment concerns me. Why would Brightleaf show interest in me? It isn’t as if I am popular or I have done something to draw her attention. “And what did she say?” I take a deep breath and glance behind me to make sure Brightleaf isn’t watching or listening. She is staring right at me. The intensity of her gaze makes me uncomfortable. After a bit, she glances away. “She said there weren’t many. ‘Not enough to be a threat’.” “You think differently, don’t you?” Applepaw asks, her eyes searching mine. I give a soft laugh, “You’re very alert to notice that.” Lionpaw nudges Applepaw, “I’ll certainly have to be careful around you!” He jokes, “I wouldn’t want you to be guessing my secrets!” The white and red she-cat smiles, her eyes twinkling playfully. She then replies, “I’m used to watching someone closely and analyzing them. My mom was a poor cat but my dad was Beauty, so he constantly came over to teach me things and eventually I got into the Beauty System.” “That’s certainly a useful skill,” I mew, purring. Then I mew in a serious tone, “And yes, Applepaw, I do think differently.” “How so?” A new voice interrupts, causing all three of us to freeze. I turn and find myself face to face with Brightleaf. My mouth hangs open with shock, and after a few agonizing seconds, I manage to close my mouth. “How so?” Brightleaf repeats. “I think that there is only one group that has already been crushed. Now there’s only a few cats just asking for trouble,” it takes me all my courage not to cringe when Brightleaf continues to stare at me, “The poor will never be strong enough to form even one group.” The instructor’s eyes remains cold, “Ah, of course you are right, Amberpaw, they are weak. You would make an excellent Beauty warrior.” As Brightleaf pads away, I sag in relief. “Tell us what you really think,” Applepaw interrupts, “I know you did that for show.” Lionpaw watchs Brightleaf’s retreating back with narrowed eyes before turning back to me. “I think that there is multiple rebel groups branched off from one big group,” I admit, “I never noticed before, but I always felt like someone was watching Brownpaw and I whenever I was visiting him. It must have been the rebels.” Lionpaw frowns, “What makes you think there are really more than one rebel group?” “Because if there were barely any rebels the Beauty needed to crush,” I mew firmly, “Then how come they’re still fighting a war? Surely a few rebels aren’t that hard to catch. I mean they found a way to capture Brackentail, didn’t they?” Applepaw nods her agreement. “If we are to help the poor win, we’ll have to know how many of them there are.” Suddenly, yowls and shrieks fill the air. Brightleaf beckons us all over, and I stare in horror down below. The raucous cries of the dying rebels sicken me. Easily, I can see the Beauty outnumber the poor three to one. Applepaw brings her muzzle close to my ear and whispers, “Those cats aren’t from the poor. They’re from the prisons. The Beauty must have captured them and they’re killing them for us to see. They want to prove they’re winning this war.” I study the poor cats carefully. They are gaunt and thin, and if I look closely enough, I can see the haunted and cornered look in their eyes. The look of a tortured prisoner. “You’re right,” I realize. Applepaw will prove to be useful, with her skills to spot details from far away. I also know what poor cats looked like. Sure, they are thin, but none of them ever look like they had come back from the Dark Forest. Applepaw continues, “I think your hunch might be right. The Beauty is showing us these staged battles to prove that they are strong. They probably aren’t showing the real rebellions because they fear that they will appear to be losing to the poor.” I nod and relay our thoughts to Lionpaw. The battle doesn’t last long and soon the Beauty is leaving the bodies of the prisoners in the dust. There is a cheer among the apprentices and we half-heartedly join them. Then I see something that caught my eye. The retreating Beauty warriors seem to flinch from an unseen attack. Shadows seem to move on their own accord. Slowly, Beauty soldiers crumple. The apprentices are beginning to notice and cry in alarm. “Let’s go,” Brightleaf orders. Immediately the apprentices scatter, as if afraid that the shadows will kill them too. I cast one look at the scene behind me, and then bound after the apprentices and Brightleaf. Applepaw and Lionpaw don’t make any comments about what had happened. We reach camp in stunned silence and Brightleaf orders us to go to our dens and rest for tomorrow. “If you want to visit the toms, you may, though no funny business.” I want to rest, but I also want to talk to Brownpaw about today’s incident. “Amberpaw!” Snowpaw’s voice-which is abnormally quiet-sounds in my ear. “Brownpaw wants to talk to you. He says to bring you outside of camp.” I nod and beckon for the others to join me. We spot the toms not far off and my heart leaps with joy at seeing Brownpaw. He looks frustrated and when he sees me, it only darkens his mood. “Brownpaw,” I greet. “Amberpaw.” Snowpaw speaks first, “Did you guys witness a poor cat slaughter?” “It was a rebel fight,” Rainpaw supplies, “Not just the poor.” Brownpaw narrows his eyes, “It was supposed to be a ‘rebel attack’, but I could tell they pulled a few cats out of their homes and forced them to fight,” he hesitates, “One of them was my neighbor in the poor.” Lionpaw breathes in sharply, “Our ‘rebels’ were prisoners they forced to fight,” he growls, “So none of the fights were against rebels.” “We can assume they weren’t,” Snowpaw agrees. Rainpaw narrows her eyes, “Although there were shadows attacking the Beauty soldiers when we were leaving.” “The rebels,” I breathe out, “The Beauty are afraid to fight them, so that’s why they staged fights for us to see. But the rebels were trying to put on a show, so they attacked when we were still watching.” “And that’s why Brightleaf wanted us to leave quickly,” Hawkpaw agrees. “She was afraid of us seeing the rebels’ power.” Applepaw frowns. Finchpaw, who has been quiet for the conversation piped up, “We can assume that the rebels are a strong force, but they aren’t strong enough to defeat the Beauty, yet.” I nod, “And the Beauty don’t want to admit that they’re losing against the poor. How embarrassing that would be.” “Someone should tell Gingerpaw about this,” Brownpaw suggests, “Why don’t we part ways for now? It’s getting late anyways and we need our strength for tomorrow.” The others nod and pad separate ways. I move to join Snowpaw and the others when Brownpaw stops me. “I need to talk to you, Amberpaw.” I stop and glance at him expectantly, “Amberpaw…” my best friend starts, “Have you been making cats in your camp mad?” “Only Flarepaw,” I frown, “Why?” Brownpaw’s eyes darkens, “Some toms were talking about how some she-cats thought a specific she-cat is trouble to the Beauty and should be thrown out.” Brownpaw meets my gaze, “They meant you.” I shrug, “Flarepaw and I aren’t getting on well,” I admit. The brown tom frowns, “She’s Redstar’s daughter. If we want to…you know…we need to stay on other’s good sides. Flarepaw has a lot of power, and you’re lucky that the warriors aren’t on her side yet…” He starts to pad away, “Be careful, Amberpaw.” The End. Category:Fan Fictions Category:Cchen3's Fanfics Category:Beauty